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Airedalandia
Airedalandia is a large sovereign state in West Centralius, bordered by Ellisland, Gentelibre, Girania and Hapshire. Though they do not share any land boarders, the island nations of the Welver Isles Federation and Yeltove are in close proximity of Airedalandia's coast. It is a Constitutional Monarchy, in which the executive power is ultimately vested in the King. However, the country is in practice governed by a Representative Democracy, its two most notable and powerful organs being the Executive Council (of which the Prime Minister is chair) and the unicameral National Parliament. Airedalandia is a federation of two formerly sovereign states, Airedale and Santobrillo. The governments of their capitals of Airedale and Guarnizo, respectively, hold considerable powers concerning internal self-governance, and many laws are notably different between the two regions. Each also has its own language (Airedalian and Santobrillan) which are co-official at the national level. After uniting in the aftermath of the mutually devastating Second Airedalian-Santobrillan War (1756-69), which ended with Airedale's famous defensive victory at the Battle of Lago Gómez, the united nation became a world power in its own right, establishing a sizeable colonial empire, which, after recovering from the civil war of 1807-1809, would go unmatched for much of the 19th century. Through the later half of the 19th century and continuing into the 20th, the colonies were granted increasing degrees of self-governance. Modern-day Airedalandia, through its strong ties to its former colonies, five of which share the same monarch and engage in free trade and collective defence under the auspices of the Airedalandian Commonwealth, and with its expanded economic might after emerging victorious in the Great War (1942-49), has become a Superpower, which after the decades long stand-off of the First Cold War, emerged triumphant in the face of Ebeline's collapse. In recent times, ties with the rising power of Zootron have grown considerably since the end of the relatively short re-escalation of hostilities between Airedalandia and Zootron in the Second Cold War. Etymology Airedale, a predecessor state to Airedalandia, had a capital city called Aire. In the early days of the Kingdom of Airedale in the 12th to 13th centuries (before it was known as Airedale), the dale (valley) surrounding Aire became the heart of the kingdom, and over time Aire and its surrounding smaller settlements became collectively known as “Airedale.” In an effort to bolster support for the union of Airedale and Santobrillo, the Aire Herald distributed numerous publications containing the slogan “for a better land of the Airedales.” Soon, this became shortened to “Airedaleland.”When the name was said in Santobrillan, it didn't flow well, and soon an extra syllable was added to the end. So was born the name of Airedalandia. History Prior to 1756 Second Airedalian-Santobrillan War In 1756, the long-held tensions between Airedale and Santobrillo boiled over following the assassination of Prince Lewis of Airedale in what was then the buffer state of Northern Gatewood. Northern Gatewood, created following the First Airedalian-Santobrillan War (1706-1718), was created to provide a boundary between the two states and prevent another war. However, the boarders of Northern Gatewood, having been drawn on roughly ethno-religious lines, gave rise to a nationalist movement, the Brotherhood of Sasmin Patriots (BSP). Their goal was the removal of foreign troops from their traditional homeland and ending the suppression of their religion, Sasminism. On July 19th, 1756, while riding in his carriage on his way to an official reception at the Airedalian Embassy by diplomatic staff and the President of Northern Gatewood, Prince Lewis, Heir to the Airedalian throne and the sole surviving son on King Charles IV, was shot by a musket-baring Sasmin Brother. He died within hours, and upon learning multiple Northern Gatewoodish soldiers guarding the prince's carriage had either sympathised with the BSP or been successfully bribed, the Kingdom of Airedale declared war on Northern Gatewood. The Republic of Santobrillo was forced to launch its own invasion of Northern Gatewood or face a major strategic disadvantage. As Santobrillan troops poured into Northern Gatewood from the south as the Airedalians invaded from the north, clashes between the two invading forces began to occur, some notably by accident. One such incident, the First "Battle" of Crystalview Hill, started when a Santobrillan soldier trying to light a fire for cooking ignited spilled gunpowder, which in turn lit off nearby stored ammunition, in what the rest of the camp thought was an attack by the Airedalians who were known to be in the area. After occasional skirmishes escalated into full-fledged war, Santobrillo launched an invasion of Airedale based on pre-war contingency planning. In the span of eight months they would go from the Santobrillan war all the way to the walls of Airedale, yet were beaten back by a determined garrison, which started a series of successive Airedalian victories that put the Santobrillans on the defensive inside their own boarders. Two years after the initial offensives, the war settled into a stalemate in Centralius, while the two empires put greater focus overseas. During the later parts of the war both nations tried to deny the other access to the resources of their colonies, in an effort to break the stalemate. One such tactic used by the Santobrillans was to incite unrest in the Airedalian colonies, which in two cases led to successful revolutions, in Gillworthia and Valhunnia. The desire to end the war in Valhunnia was also important factor that swayed Airedale to be open to a negotiated peace. 1769 to 1804 (First Empire) After taking huge casualties at the Battle of Lago Gómez, which was supposed to be the start of a counter-offensive that would turn the war back in Santobrillo's favour, and with waning support for the war among its citizens, who were enduring brutal shortages of various goods brought on by a successful Airedalian naval blockade that effectively cut of Santobrillo from its colonies, peace seemed an appealing option. After a third unsuccessful attempt to seize a crossing point through the shallows of Lago Gómez and loosing 57,000 of his 120,000 men one week, Hernán Luis Aguilar, Generalissimo of the Santobrillan Armed Forces and President of the Republic of Santobrillo, arranged to meet the Airedalian field commander, Admiral Donovan Blanchard, to negotiate a temporary ceasefire to facilitate further peace negotiations atop Greenpine Ridge. There it was agreed the two sides would engage in an indefinite ceasefire, and a peace conference was to be held there along the former frontline. In the lead-up to the conference that officially started on September 9th, 1769, debate in each country's respective legislatures emphasized a common theme and fear; a third destructive war between the countries, and one that could not be avoided through a peace agreement similar to that which ended the previous war, and ultimately caused the last one. As well both countries saw eachother as equals. Both were democracies (Airedale a Constitutional Monarchy governed by a Parliamentary Democracy, and Santobrillo a Presidential Republic) since 1689 and 1732, respectively. Imperial Ebeline was a common enemy and constant menace of both Empires. Through new found political stability and riches from freshly-acquired colonies, Ebleline was set to surpass both Airedale and Santobrillo. However, it was thought and emphasized by pro-unioners that combined Airedalandia and Santobrillo would stand unopposed in Centralius. During the first year of the three year conference, it was decided that Airedale and Santobrillo would unite, and during the latter two, the terms of union were hammered out. The most important provisions of the Treaty of Union were the creation of the then-bicameral National Parliament, the preservation of Airedale and Santobrillo as semi-independent entities titled "States" under the Federation,the status of Airedalian and Santobrillan as co-official languages, and finally, the agreement on a head of state. What could be agreed upon was that the positions head of government and head of state of the new nation could not be held by the same person. There was however initial discord over who would hold the latter position. After much debate over the fate of the Airedalian Monarchy, and Airedalian proposals to declare King Charles IV of Airedale the figurehead monarch of the united nation, followed by Santobrillo's proposal to have a ceremonial President elected by the Senate, and with the success of the negotiations at stake, it was mutually declared that no human could hold the title of King or President of Airedalandia. The search for a non-human head of state was eventually settled by declaring Aguilar's dog, and Airedale Terrier named Brew, the King of Airedalandia. In explaining his proposal to the conference, Blanchard asserted an Airedale Terrier was an ideal figurehead monarch, being "symbolic, easily adored and gentle, yet possessing immense strength should he need it- all qualities of a great nation." Also notable was the fact the Santobrillan leader adored his dog which whose namesake and origin was Airedale. After the proposal was approved by the delegates of the conference on July 19th, 1770, King Charles IV of Airedale signed a proclamation of his abdication pending the signing of the Treaty of Union. The final major hurdle was deciding on who was to be Airedalandia's first head of government. Given infrastructure for running a national election was inadequate in the nascent nation, an interim leader had to be chosen. An Airedalian highly regarded in Santobrillo, Shadow Foreign Minister of Airedale and member of the anti-war movement in Airedale Andrew Clark was ultimately selected. Clark was a longtime advocate against slavery, and he helped pen legislation in the Airedalian House of Commons that was passed in 1752 outlawing the practice. Clark was also a devout Reformed Sasmin, yet staunch critic of the BSP and their guerilla actions in Northern Gatewood. He initially applauded the creation of the buffer state as a method of preserving peace, yet later, in an address to the Lago Gómez Conference on December 12th, 1769, that approach to peace to be flawed in his view, and declare his support for the union of Airedale and Santobrillo. The move bolstered support for the union on the Airedalian left, and with the King's support coming soon after, there was Airedalian support across the political spectrum. Just over a year later, on March 12th, 1771, the Treaty of Union was signed between the Kingdom of Airedale and Republic of Santobrillo, coming into effect the following day, March 13th, now commemorated as Union Day in Airedalandia. It was signed atop Greenpine Ridge, the sight of Aguilar's and Blanchard's first meeting in 1769, and the site is also greatly revered, today an National Monument. Growth of the Empire In the years immediately following the union, the young Airedalandia enjoyed immense geopolitical power. Imperial Ebeline, which through the early to mid 18th century was the dominant power in Centralius and poised to also become master of colonization by 1800, became second-rate in the face of Airedalandia's new found strength. This was due to a winning combination of Airedale's navy, and legendary wealth from Santobrillo's colonies, plus the sizeable commercial enterprises of both nations feeding into a single and rapidly growing economy. This economy gained a massive competitive advantage as Airedalandia became the world's first industrialized nation. Starting in earnest in the first decade of union, steam engines, mechanized textile production and improved efficiency in using water power fuelled a new export-based manufacturing economy. As a consequence of the shift in the concentration of wealth, the concentration of political power followed suit and shifted as well. Longtime dominant political parties became increasingly irrelevant in the face of powerful industrialists and entrepreneurs fuelling candidates of their choosing to prominence. The Monarchist and Drumbovian parties,often referred to as the Pre-Union Legacy Parties,had dominated Airedalian politics in a century-long bipolar political scene from the late 1600s until the union, when they began losing their importance first to the Unionist Party, but then to the Conservative and Trade Union parties that emerged in the 1820s and 1840s, respectively. Santobrillo,which as an independent nation forbade political parties, initially was at a political disadvantage, lacking a strong parliamentary voice. This changed when Hernán Aguilar ran in the 1791 election under the newly-created Condor Party which pressed for increased power for the state governments, and further colonial expansion. The opportunity for further colonization came in 1791, when explorer Francisco Castillo discovered Liberinsula. On the seldom-populated island the Airedalandians initially established a naval base at what is now Castillo Point to assert their dominance in the newly-discovered region, along with penal colonies. In 1803, after a series of earlier more minor incidents, a popular uprising began in Liberinsula. Beginning with loggers who protested hefty license fees to engage in the lucrative business to supply timber to the Royal Airedalandian Navy, and then prison labourers, the rebellion quickly grew in strength and came to include sailors who mutinied, and on July 28th of 1803, the first meeting of the self-proclaimed Liberinsulan Congress took place. There they declared their independence, and proclaimed John Smithson their hero. Though quickly suppressed after the arrival of more colonial troops, the Liberinuslan revolt, and apparent slowness in the Airedalandian response to counter it, had widespread consequences in Airedalandian politics. The Airedalandian Republic, Second Empire and Civil War (1804-09) Seeds of the coup The main critics of the response to the rebellion were a group of hawkish military officers, which after initial infighting became headed by Captain Maurice Turndrum. Turndrum, a sociable young officer who then made allies outside the military, most notably the Speaker Of The House Of Commons Harold Williamson (who he bribed) and magnate Fredrick Colbert, owner of the Oogleberry Times Newspaper, manoeuvred politically to stage a coup. After influencing and by some accounts coercing Colbert to instil anger against the government in the readers of the Ooglberry Times, Turndrum ran a successfully in a by-election in a now-disbanded Oogleberry riding opened by the sudden (and suspicious) death of its representative. Then, as an independent member of parliament, Turndrum brought a vote of non-confidence to the floor, which despite staunch opposition went to vote. Williamson in his capacity as speaker was able to distort the results, and the vote was passed. Turndrum had also managed to convince two minor parties with underwhelming parliamentary presences to support the non-confidence vote in hopes of gaining a greater seat share. From the election which took place the following month, under conditions of heavy intimidation of voters and extensive tampering with the results emerged a hung parliament. Following sporadic calls for recounts in various ridings, Turndrum and the original conspiring military officers stormed Aguilar Palace, took Prime Minister Jorge Ramos captive, and proclaimed themselves to be a legitimate provisional government. Queen Diana II was notably absent at the time of the storming, and while being walked backed to the palace, was quickly moved away from the ensuing chaos. Soon after, an emergency session of Parliament was called, which most legitimately elected members boycotted. This boycott ironically greatly harmed the cause of democracy in Airedalandia, as the boycotting members could not vote. During the session, an act to abolish parliament was brought forth, which passed both houses with relative ease in the absence of the boycotting members' votes. Upon noticing Williamson was tampering with the vote tally, Member Of Parliament Guy Troyson yelled out "He's rigging it!" and in response Williamson called upon the guards to remove him. Troyson in response grabbed his cane, and before being apprehended killed a guard with his cane on the floor of Parliament, and soon a full fledged riot broke out between the parliamentarians loyal to Ramos and the opposing members and the guards. In response, Turndrum's newly empowered Council Of National Order decreed all rioting members of parliament to be traitors, blocked the Sentate vote, claiming the House Of Commons riot meant all of parliament couldn't be trusted, and abolished the monarchy. Turndrum, now titled President of Airedalandia, consolidated power for a few more months then launched an invasion of Gatewood. After Ebeline became involved in the war, Turndrum faced a greatly worsened military situation and with increasing desperation he tried to maximize his economic strength through territorial status changes and reinstating slavery. The Civil War In 1806, after the failure of his first attempt to take Ebeline city, Turndrum declared Santobrillo to be a territory of Airedale, versus a state of Airedalandia. This miscalculated move caused unprecedented anger in Santobrillo, and soon armed opposition from the Ejército de Restauración (Restoration Army) began. By 1807 an outright civil war was underway, and after successive defeats against both the Ebelinians and Santobrillans, Turndrum retreated to Oogleberry by March of 1808. After negotiating a temporary truce with the Ebelinians, and with the addition of the added strength of the Airedalian Monarchist Army, the Ejército de Restauración laid siege to Oogleberry starting in May. At first snowfall in late November, the storming of the city was ordered. The garrison of Oogleberry was ill equipped after seven months of constant fighting with virtually no resupply, and after two days fighting, the city's inner walls were breached on November 17th. The 11th Dragoons of the Ejército de Restauración (Los Libertadores) were then ordered to take Aguilar Palace, and symbolically Queen Diana (who'd been sheltered in the Welver Isles until then) accompanied them in their charge on the Palace, though she was fatally shot by a marksman and died on the palace steps. At her state funeral, General Nicolás Aguilar, commander of the Ejército de Restauración and son of Hernán Aguilar formally declared the restoration of the monarchy, and erected the Queen Diana II Memorial on the west side of Aguilar Palace. The death of Queen Diana II lead to Prince Brew succeeding her. In a lavish ceremony held on January 1st, 1809, a date chosen to mark the beginning of a new era, King Christopher I was crowned after a brief regency by Diana's second-eldest pup, John. Third Empire From 1809 to roughly 1850, Airedalandia endured much reduced economic growth due to the war's immediate and more lasting effects, i.e. internal displacement. Airedalandia's previous edge over the other Centralian powers disappeared, and in the Airedo-Merkrunese War of 1842 Airedalandia suffered a humiliating defeat that cost them control of Bloodcoast. In 1844, with the fiasco against the Merkrunese still in mind, a new government was elected. Under Prime Minister Thomas Raymond's Liberal Party, Airedalandia began to regain lost strength, and by 1850 Airedalandia had reasserted its dominance in naval tonnage. Economically Airedalandia was transformed through pro-free market reforms and further industrialization. For increased economic activity, faster communication in peace and wartime, Raymond in 1853 committed to the construction of a nation-wide railroad & telegraph system within the next decade. The passage of the Railroad Construction & Standards Act in 1853, which outlined the elaborate project, also defined a common gauge of railroad track, 4 feet and 8 1/2 inches, which is used by roughly 60% percent of railroads in the world, and is commonly referred to as "Airedalandian Standard." The national railway was nearly completed when a combined Gyren-Vaatnian force attacked in 1861 in an attempt to pre-empt Airedalandia's coming power. After being bogged down by a large guerilla force, the Gyrens and Vaatniens suffered a decisive defeat at the Battle of Gatewood after sending the majority of their troops to take one city, then being met by thousands of additional troops promptly sent to reinforce Gatewood's embattled garrison thanks to a completed section of the railroad. After securing a favourable peace a the Vertigo Point conference of 1864 which finally put an end to the Bloodcoast Wars through declaring the Gyren Sea canal officially neutral, Airedalandia had emerged as the world's foremost world power while the empires of Gyre and Vaatnia withered. Through 1864 until the start of the Great Colonial War of 1911, Airedalandia did not fight a single major war while enjoying unparalleled dominance. Great Colonial War (1902-1908) and aftermath At the turn of the 20th century, Airedalandia began to once more have strong rivals, in the form of Ebeline, Girania and Valhunnia. These newly emboldened and industrialized powers all sought to further their own colonial interests, which inevitably meant conflict with the Airedalandians. Under an elaborate treaty system which developed during the later 19th century, two blocs of near equal strength emerged in Centralius. Airedalandia had joined forces with Gyre, Ellisland, Sabaronnia and Wennland and Yeltove. When an arms shipment from the Giranian government bound to rebels in Conquisterra was intercepted by an Airedalandian cruiser, armies across Centralius were put on high alert, and when pre-emptive Airedalandian action seemed imminent, pre-war Giranian contingency plans were set into action, and a thrust to take Oogleberry was launched. Soon Girania's alliance joined the fighting, and so began the greatest conflict known to man so far. After initial progress, Giranian troops were became bogged down roughly 100 miles north of Oogleberry, and the plan which was supposed to take one month lasted four, until Airedalandian forces decided to pursue Giranian troops after yet another failed attempt to break Airedalandian lines on April 18th, 1902. The Airedalandians then retook all occupied territory and liberated Ellisburg, which had been occupied for two months by the Giranians. As Girania itself became endangered, a large defensive line was constructed just inside the boarder, and through northern Ellisland. Following three years of a virtual stalemate after both sides dug in, Valhunnia entered the war on Airedalandia's side after the sinkings of four Valhunnian-flagged merchant ships in Valhunnian waters near Pantherville (The Pantherville Torpedo Incident). With the added might of Valhunnia, the Giranian alliance was quickly doomed, and after a last ditch offensive in late 1906, a revolution took hold in Vaatnia because of dissatisfaction with war, creating Gentelibre, and Girania was forced to sue for peace in 1908. In the aftermath of the Great Colonial War, Airedalandia was ceded over half of Girania and Merkrun's combined empires. Emerging from the war Airedalandia was modestly indebted, but within 15 years wartime loans of over $60 Billion from Valhunnia were repaid. Establishment of the Airedalandian Commonwealth Airedalandia was also faced with new difficulties in defending its colonies, and coupled with rising nationalist sentiments in numerous territories, the Airedalandian government recognized the need for change. The result was the Oogleberry declaration of 1929, which gave the colonies total self-governance on all matters minus foreign relations and defence and created the Airedalandian Commonwealth. The Eve Of War Girania, devastated by the war and pressed by the victors (especially Gyre) to pay hefty war reparations totalling $58 billion (equivalent to nearly $500 billion today) saw successive waves of unrest and in 1920 a successful coup. Leader of the uprising, Karl Zimmer declared himself President and from 1920-21 held control, until Airedalandia, Gentelibre, Gyre and Merkrun intervened militarily and created the Allied Control Council for Girania, which in turn held control from 1921 to 1929, when self-governance was granted. After winning power in the ill-fated Second Giranian Republic, Elmo Kohl soon seized total control and far exceeded arms control limits on the Giranian military. After subsequently signing the Fist Pact with Hapshire, Merkrun and Wennland, the stage was set for the Great War. Great War On April 6th, 1942, after the expiration of a 5 day joint ultimatum to withdraw from West Ebeline, Airedalandia and Sabaronnia declared war on Girania. A day later Girania's allies under the Fist Pact declared war on Airedalandia and Sabaronnia. Girania was initially vulnerable given they hadn't expected a full Airedalandian response, and still had most of their troops occupied in the north, fighting Ebeline. The Airedalandians took advantage of this, and advanced into the former Ellisland and southern Girania, while Hapshire was in the midst of mobilizing, and more or less kept at bay. The Airedalandian advance continued until the winter of 1942-43, when the Giranians dug in, and poorer weather conditions dampened the effect of Airedalandian air power, which had previously wreaked havoc on Giranian logistics and industry during the warmer months. In spring 1943, the Giranians and Hapshirians launched a simultaneous offensive on two fronts against the Airedalandians, and broke through the winter frontline with relative ease. The Airedalandians rushed to send a force consisting of over a third of the army to defend Airedale, but they were cut off when the Giranians reached the Islita Sea by June. This put Airedalandia as a whole in a very precarious situation, and the country was soon fighting for survival. The bulk of the remaining army was sent defend Oogleberry, while at the same time the crucial naval bases of Seagull Shores had to be defended by an undermanned garrison. At Seagull Shores the Airedalandians could muster some 40 divisions (400,000 men) against well over a million Giranians. Citizens of the city had luckily spent months erecting fortifications and, crucially, digging antitank ditches. The 12th Armoured Division, a specialized mechanized combat engineering formation, was also present to help the city, and all these factors, coupled with the support of four battleships and six cruisers from the navy and decent air cover, the Airedalandians were able to repel the initial Giranian attack which came on July 22nd, 1943, which relied mostly on tanks. A second, infantry-heavy attack would be launched by the Giranians some two weeks later, wherein the enemy occupied antitank ditches and began using them as trenches to facilitate a slow, bloody advance to force the city garrison into a war of attrition the Giranians knew the besieged city could not sustain. The Giranians also ordered mass air raids, and all of this caused Prime Minister Pierce to take a visit to the frontline, where he would become stuck in the middle of the fighting. From a bunker built near city hall, he would command the defenders along with General Cecil T. Abbott. The Giranians would once more be driven back, since relying on a slow infantry advance had let the Airedalandians reinforce the city by sea. After the Giranians fell back to regroup and lost the intuitive, Pierce organized a mass military parade of over 150,000 troops that then marched straight to battle, pursuing the Giranians as they retreated. After an amphibious landing further north on the Gyren coast, the Giranians were in full retreat. The Giranians subsequently decided to bypass the newly-renamed city of Pierceton and press straight on to Oogleberry by moving troops en masse through neutral Gentelibre. The Gentelibrens, it was hoped, would grant passage of the troops in exchange for military modernization and coal, but when Giranians got overly pushy, the Gentelibrens declared war. From that point on, Airedalandia and its allies were on the offensive, and the Fist Pact was fighting a loosing industrial war. Through 1944 the Giranians were steadily pushed back, as were the Hapshirians. By November of 1944, Herbton had fallen to a combined land-based advance and amphibious landing force, and the following month, on December 18th, 1944, Hapshire surrendered. The Airedalandians could thereafter focus on Girania, and in the spring-summer of 1945 a combined Airedo-Gentelibren offensive thrust into Girania from the south as Ebeline went in from the north. The deathblow came when all three nations converged on Helmdorf, and after a gruelling and immensely costly months-long campaign of urban warfare, Elmo Kohl was captured trying to flee the city disguised as a refugee aboard a merchant ship, and was hung two days later in a massive public execution. The Giranians surrendered eight days later, on September 7th, 1945. The next four years were spent waging a long-range, strategic and naval war to first liberate Sabaronnia, capture Sapolis and invade the Fist Pact's last truce stronghold, Jannovia. In 1948, after twice probing the island's fanatical defenders, the Airedalandians unleashed the first operational nuclear weapon on Jannovia, codenamed "Peacock Egg," which in single stroke flattened Vebba, and with the threat of a second nuclear attack, the Jannovians finally surrendered on February 2nd, 1949, bringing the Great War to a close. First Cold War (1949-1990) At the end of the Great War Airedalandia emerged as the world's first modern, nuclear-armed superpower, but at the same time had incurred a massive debt from fighting the war, and lost 5 million citizens in the fighting. Chiefly among them were young men, leading to a shortage of labourers that saw more women move into the workforce, along with the first wave of post-war immigration. This also started a trend of government-encouraged agricultural mechanization which in turn led to the urban population becoming larger relative to the rural population. In the post-war period, Airedalandia was faced with the emboldened, nuclear-armed and ideologically different Gentelibre on its boarders. Soon after, Ebeline, wartime ally of Airedalandia, also turned to Communism, and as such Airedalandia maintained large deterrent military forces. The Gentelibrens followed suit, and soon large standoffish forces stood on opposing sides of the boarder, ready to pounce at a moment's notice. On a global scale, the great and superpowers, along with their blocs, fought for hegemony and fuelled numerous small-scale conflicts, while avoiding direct conflict out of fear of the other side's nuclear reprisal. Airedalandia's nuclear deterrent was placed under Commonwealth-level control, as was the rest of the military. The Greater Commonwealth Defence Organization (GCDO) was established in 1952, formalizing Airedalandia's alliance with Jannovia, Sabaronnia and Yeltove in the post-war era. In 1963, the Sabaronnian territory of East Chesterland was plunged into a state of disarray as unrest broke out across the nation. Mass protests broke out in major cities demanding home rule, and after police shot several demonstrators during a general strike, an insurgency led by the Eckhadam Liberation Front (ELF) began brewing. The Communist Ebelinians had already manipulated the protests, and as the insurgency began they gave a steady supply of weapons and funding to the rebels who made alarmingly fast progress. This worried Airedalandia greatly, which not only had considerable commercial interests in the country, but wanted to stop Communism's spread. On January 19th, 1964, 40,000 Airedalandian troops began moving into West Chesterland to assist the Sabaronnians. This angered the Ebelinians, who responded with ramped up support for the ELF, and in the end Airedalandia got bogged down in a decade-long unwinnable proxy war. During the same time, Nordistan experienced an Ebelinian-backed revolution that nationalized the oil industry and surged global petroleum prices. Airedalandia, heavily dependent on energy imports, facing an expensive war that had led to unrest and a short of labourers (most young men were drafter into the military) and still laden with debt, was plunged into a decade of economic hardship. 1966 saw Airedalandian deployment to Eckhadam peak at 552,000 troops, and in 1967 the governing Liberal Party faced off against the United Labour-controlled Senate, resulting in political gridlock as the government could not pass a budget. An early election was called, and that year the United Labour Party scored a massive political victory, winning 189 of 221 seats in a landslide election. The new ULP government began mass spending on housing and welfare, nationalized most industries and forms of transportation, and made unprecedented cuts to the military. The ULP then brought the ELF to the negotiating table, wishing for an orderly Airedalandian withdrawal that'd leave a stable and ideologically-neutral independent state behind. The negotiations fell through, and the Airedalandians responded by withdrawing troops anyways and passing counter-insurgency operations over to local forces. The last Airedalandian troops left East Chesterland in 1974, and by 1976 the ELF was in complete control. Airedalandia, while being militarily and economically weak for most of the 1970s, did have one massive triumph triumph during the era; landing a man on the moon. The Milestone Program came to fruition in 1972, but only 3 of the originally planned 20 missions were carried out, underlining the difference between expectation and reality for Airedalandia's success in the 1970s. Things did begin to change, however, as the 1971 election resulted in a minority government for the ULP that was too weak to sustain itself long term, as nearly all proposed government legislation was contentious to the point it stood no reasonable chance of passing. In 1973, the Prime Minister resigned, and called an early election. In the special election of 1973, the Liberal Party took a massive victory and Helena Robertson became Airedalandia's first female Prime Minister. During her tenure, the nationalizations of the 1960s were reversed, the economy was deregulated, and the military was rebuilt. Though social inequality was increased, the erosion of Airedalandia's might had been stopped. This was epitomized by the Airedalandian victory in the Chiban War in 1981. By the 1980s, Airedalandia was growing once more, but as mentioned, inequality had risen, and the Cold War with Ebeiline had grown ever more tense. This led or calls to reform the political system, and 1983 the newly-elected government of Francisco Gutiérrez moved to do just that, backed by popular support. The resulting changes brought on by the Constitution of 1986, which is the current version, turned Airedalandia to a quasi-semi-presidential system, wherein the Prime Minister became automatic chair of the newly-created Executive Council. The three-member (the members being the Prime Minister, the newly-created post of Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary-General of the Airedalandian Commonwealth) Executive Council was created in order to streamline the government's response in a demanding, time-sensitive and major crisis, i.e. a nuclear war. The position of Deputy Prime Minister was created for the similar reasons, namely to have a well-defined line of succession. The Prime Minister was now directly elected versus being leader of the party with the most seats in Parliament, which had on rare occasions resulted in a mismatch between the popular vote and electoral result. Also under the 1986 Constitution, Private Education was abolished and education was shifted from State-level to Federal control, and leading to criticism by some that the constitutional changes were eroding the importance of states. Zootronian Revolutionary War, and Airedalandia's Intervention The new and still somewhat contentious system was put to the ultimate test some four years later when on April 21st, 1990 protesters in Ebeline City were massacred, followed by the declaration of nationwide martial law in Ebeline and beginning of a civil war which plunged the globe into crisis as one of the three superpowers fell into disarray. The Ebelinian government saw its power greatly eroded as the USER fell apart, and its members quickly began declaring independence. Airedalandian forces were put on high alert, reaching Military Alert Readiness Status (MARS) 2 by April 23, and a direct conflict between the superpowers seemed imminent. At home, the "Total War" provisions of the constitution, retained from the previous version and not used since the Great War, were invoked, and Prime Minister Jimmy Sanderson assumed near dictatorial powers. Opposition leaders and the government alike supported a naval blockade of Ebeline in concert with Valhunnia to try to starve the failing and increasingly rash Ebelinian government into negotiating, but had to be extremely careful to not spark war, although even then a handful of skirmishes did occur. The naval blockade was only partially successful, and only truly served to turn loyal communists within the military even more staunchly against Airedalandia. As the rebels were consolidating gains across Ebeline, fanatical elements controlling a remote airbase outside Crater Lake prepared to make a defiant and destructive last stand by launching a nuclear attack on Airedalandia and Valhunnia. Upon receiving intelligence reports about the plot, Prime Minister Sanderson ordered the commencement of a massive aerial bombing campaign codenamed Operation Long Arm on May 20th, 1990, to cripple whatever was left of the Ebelinian military. Long Arm was originally supposed to only involve air and naval operations, but this changed after the Nuclear Bombing of Ebeline City by the communists on June 7th, and in response Airedalandia reached MARS 1, and contingency plans for an invasion were set into action. The Valhunnians declared war on Ebeline at this point, and the stage was set for the largest conflict since the Great War. Airedalandian and Commonwealth forces fought alongside various rebel factions along with Valhunnia, Sabaronnia, and were very successful. Over 800,000 ground troops were deployed to Ebeline, and Airedalandia instituted its first military service draft since 1969. With naval and air assets taken into account, well over a million Airedalandian troops were sent to the theatre, and Commonwealth forces put that number to 1.5 million, along with a further 900,000 from Valhunnia and 500,000 from Airedalandia's other allies. Airedalandian troops quickly surged into North Girania where they encounter sparse resistance, as the local populace had already begun to revolt against Ebelinian forces in the area, which had mostly withdrawn in any case. Local rebel factions were also mostly welcoming of the Airedalandians, and they continued to accompany them further north into Western Ebeline. At this point the Ebelinian Communist Government had collapsed, and only small numbers of fanatical troops continued to resist. Pockets of sporadic resistance continued to harass Airedalandians and troops loyal to the newly-declared Federated States of New Ebeline into the winter of 1990-1991, but in the harsh northern winter the resolve of even the most hard-line communist troops wasn't enough to keep them fighting with virtually no logistical support. On February 7th, 1991, the last Communist troops surrendered, and the Zootronian Revolutionary War was over. 1990s-Present At the end of the Zootronian Revolutionary War, Airedalandia's relative power was massive owing to the nascent Zootron's economic woes stemming from the need to rebuild. Airedalandia sent much aid to the Zootronians, hoping to set a new, vastly cooperative tone to the relationship between the two nations. However, as the Zootronians recovered, they sought to regain a decent degree of self-sufficiency, and became increasingly sceptical of the Airedalandians' motives, believing the Airedalandians were trying to make Zootron dependent and manipulable. 1993 saw Sanderson's electoral defeat, losing by a modest margin (42.11% to 57.89% of valid votes in the second round) to Austin Collins. Collins was a centrist who fostered dialogue and trust with the Zootronians, who praised him for his treatment of Zootron as a sovereign and equal partner in a new bilateral trade-focused relationship. Domestically his approach was popular, and ahead of the election of 1998 he sought to make further progress with the Zootronians. However, things did not at all go as planned, as Majority Representative Simon Cooper of Zootron was assassinated on July 17th, 1998, just ahead of signing further accords with Airedalandia. The assassination was immediately assumed tob e the work of an Airedalandian, and the rapprochement of the 1990s was brought to a swift end, as was Collins' tenure as Prime Minister, losing in a landslide to National Party candidate Richard F. Summerson who subsequently surged military spending and positioned Airedalandia to once more fight for dominance against their old foe. Summerson won re-election twice (2003 and 2008), and was narrowly defeated in 2013 by Bruce Brimley of the Liberal Party who has sought to de-escalate the Second Cold War, with considerable success, owing in large part to developments in Zootron which have revealed the true identity of Cooper's assassin to have not been an Airedalandian or Airedalandian sympathizer. Geography Climate Airedalandia's climate varies considerably, given the country's straddling of a long north-south expanse. In the south along the coast, the summer months are marked by long dry periods punctuated by potent storms, and mild and wet winters which on rare occasions see subzero temperatures. To the north, greater variance between seasons is encountered, and through all latitudes the interior sees a harsher, more continental climate, especially in central Impirus, where mountainous parts remain below zero for 8 months of the year. Administrative Divisions Airedalandia is divided into eight states, which hold powers related to welfare, healthcare, natural resources and utilities. In addition, all states have their own police forces, and in order to amend the Airedalandian constitution, all state legislatures must approve. Education was formerly under state-level jurisdiction, however since the 1986 constitution this has shifted to the federal level, the latest in a long process of federalization that has greatly expanded the national-level government's power ever since unification. Government & Politics Structure Airedalandia posses a federal system of government which blends together aspects of constitutional monarchy, parliamentary and semi-presidential democracy. The 200-seat National Parliament meets at the House of Parliament in Oogleberry and since 1986 has been unicameral. Bills are signed into law by their original sponsoring Member of Parliament, with the Speaker charged with ensuring the legitimacy of the process. Members are elected for terms of a maximum of five years, and have no limits on seeking re-election. The Prime Minister is leader of their party in Parliament, and is held accountable for the government's actions through participating in parliamentary debate. The Prime Minister directs the governing party on legislative matters and has the authority to appoint and dismiss their cabinet, individually or collectively. The Prime Minister also posses other administrative powers, and may give specific instructions to diplomats and the military. When otherwise engaged, the Prime Minister is represented by the Deputy Prime Minister. The Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister appear as one on ballots, and like Members of Parliament are elected for infinitely-renewable terms of a maximum of five years. The Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, together with the Secretary-General of the Airedalandian Commonwealth, constitute the Executive Council. The Prime Minister as Chair of the Executive Council may submit Executive Orders for vote, and by custom the Deputy Prime Minister will always back them barring extreme circumstances. Executive Orders are limited in scope, and may not go against legislation passed by parliament. In a national emergency, the Executive Council may circumvent parliamentary authority, and rule by decree. All power of the Airedalandian Government is ultimately vested in the ceremonial monarch, who is currently His Fuzziness King Nick I of Airedalandia. Politics The Airedalandian political scene has in recent times been dominated by four prominent political parties, the United Labour, Liberal, National and Conservative parties, which are generally seen in that order from left to right with regards to their stances. While separate, the National and Conservative parties, being ideologically similar often support each other. Richard Summerson, Prime Minister from 1998 to 2013 was a member of the National Party who chose a running mate from the Conservative Party, Tony Berard. In two of his three terms in office, it was necessary to govern through a coalition with the Conservatives, which emerged as a very successful arrangement for both parties. The Liberal Party, meanwhile, is much close to the political centre, while the United Labour Party is much further to the left and includes the former Socialist Party, which was amalgamated into the party in 1993. The Prime Minister since 2013 has been Bruce Brimley of the Liberal Party of Airedalandia. He currently governs with a modest majority in parliament. Leading the official opposition party, the National Party, is former Prime Minister Richard Summerson. Category:IC Category:Airedalandia